Brent vs Bristol — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Brent and Bristol? A side-by-side comparison based on 46,852 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Brent: 74.4%

25,442 decisions · 18,932 approved · 6,510 refused · 27 wards

Bristol: 86.9%

21,410 decisions · 18,610 approved · 2,800 refused · 34 wards

Overall approval rates

Brent (25,442 decided)

74.4%

Bristol (21,410 decided)

86.9%

By application type

Advertisement — Brent (510 decided)

80.6%

Advertisement — Bristol (786 decided)

84.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Brent (4,325 decided)

71.2%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Bristol (3,281 decided)

88.1%

Change of Use — Bristol (284 decided)

69.4%

Discharge of Conditions — Brent (399 decided)

76.7%

Discharge of Conditions — Bristol (829 decided)

93.5%

Full — Brent (17,833 decided)

74.0%

Full — Bristol (11,772 decided)

86.0%

Listed Building — Brent (75 decided)

89.3%

Listed Building — Bristol (1,634 decided)

91.2%

Other — Brent (1,511 decided)

81.9%

Other — Bristol (304 decided)

77.6%

Prior Approval — Brent (237 decided)

45.1%

Prior Approval — Bristol (1,152 decided)

83.3%

Trees — Brent (552 decided)

96.2%

Trees — Bristol (1,368 decided)

93.2%

What the numbers mean

There is a 12.5 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Brent is the stricter of the two, which means similar applications may face higher refusal risk there. However, approval rates vary by ward and application type, so your specific situation may differ from the averages.

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See detailed data

Brent full data Bristol full data